(Left) Dr. Charles Moore, chief of Otolaryngology, meets with Miracle Fletcher for a routine check-up in the ENT Clinic at Grady.

Miracle Fletcher had been sick for more than a year with what was previously diagnosed as a mouth ulcer, after multiple visits to various emergency departments and dentists. None of the prescribed medication worked, the hole in the roof her mouth would not heal, and Fletcher was frantic.

“I couldn’t sleep or eat solid food because it hurt so much, I lost a lot of weight and I had no energy. One day the pain was so bad, I was begging the doctor in the emergency room not to send me home with more mouth wash, but refer me to a specialist,” Fletcher recalled.

That’s when her mother recommended Grady. Fletcher visited Grady’s Emergency Department, and when she was examined, a specialist from Grady’s Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) Clinic was immediately called in.

“They got me in for a biopsy, and it turned out I had a rare form of hard palate cancer. It’s not easy to hear that, I was devastated, but I also felt relief because after being misdiagnosed for so long I finally knew what I was facing,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher had surgery at Grady to remove the right side of her palate, including her teeth and gums. She is now cancer-free and in the process of fitting a prosthetic.

“In the beginning I was scared, confused, in pain, but the team of doctors, nurses, and specialists made me feel comfortable and safe in their hands. They did everything in their power to make sure I would be OK. Grady saved my life.”